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Russian ombudswoman calls on world community to press Kiev to stop shelling ZNPP

Tatiana Moskalkova warned that ongoing shelling of the nuclear plant are fraught with threats to civilians in Ukraine and in entire Europe

MOSCOW, August 29. /TASS/. Russian human rights ombudswoman Tatiana Moskalkova has called on the world community to exert pressure on Kiev and compel it to stop attacks on the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant (ZNPP).

"To avoid a nuclear cataclysm and save the lives of millions of people, I think is necessary to exert all-round pressure on the Ukrainian side and push it to immediately stop shelling of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant. The mission of experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency, which is expected in the near future, may make a major contribution to these efforts," she wrote on her Telegram channel.

She warned that ongoing shelling of the nuclear plant are fraught with threats to civilians in Ukraine and in entire Europe.

The Russian side "has repeatedly expressed its readiness to facilitate the work of the IAEA representatives at the Zaporozhye NPP, but Ukraine’s authorities have been putting various obstacles for that," she noted.

The Russian human rights ombudswoman called on UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet "to take all necessary measures to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe unleashed by Kiev, to exert pressure on the Ukrainian leadership and help ensure safe work of the IAEA experts at the Zaporozhye NPP."

Located in the city of Energodar, the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant is controlled by Russian troops. In recent days, Ukrainian forces delivered several strikes at its territory using unmanned aerial vehicles, heavy artillery and multiple rocket launch systems. It most cases, such attacks are repelled by air defense systems but several shells hit infrastructure facilities and the vicinity of the nuclear waste storage.

IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said earlier that the agency’s mission would reach the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant this week. The IAEA inspectors will assess physical damage to the nuclear plant and check its security and safety systems. The Grossi-led mission will also inspect working conditions at the nuclear plant and will yake urgent measures to ensure the plant’s security guarantees.